March 18, 2002

Milla Jovovich: A Shooting StarDon't be surprised to find Milla Jovovich joining NRA president Charlton Heston at a gun-rights rally. After several months of combat training to prepare for her role as a zombie killer in Resident Evil, a new sci-fi movie based on the popular video game, the starlet has a newfound affinity for firearms and has become a regular at her local Los Angeles shooting range. "I love guns," she told us while signing autographs at Planet Hollywood in Times Square last week. "I just get such a sense of power. The karate and kickboxing was okay, but give me a gun and I can do serious damage." She doesn't have her own gun yet, but may get one soon: "A handgun, obviously -- I mean, the machine guns are a little heavy and complicated."

Kiefer Sutherland: A Fool and His MoneyIt seems Kiefer Sutherland is still out celebrating that Best Actor Golden Globe he won in January for his new TV series, 24. He recently popped into the Broadway Billiard Cafe in the Flatiron district with some friends at about 1:30 in the morning. "I'm really drunk, and I have a pocket full of money," he loudly announced to no one in particular, according to an onlooker. "You should play me some pool." He then challenged a stranger to a game for $5. When he lost, Sutherland insisted they play another, but for $20. He lost that game, too. When the winner tried to leave, Sutherland sputtered, "You think you could fucking beat me? You're a pussy." The guy cracked back, "If a pussy is the guy who leaves with the other guy's money, then that's me." Sutherland's rep confirms he was at the pool hall that night, but insists he had a low-key night with a couple of buddies after an evening at the theater: "It's really not like him to be showy like that."

Kluge Unleashes Diamond DogSamantha Kluge may want to think about locking up her dog the next time she throws a party. The rebel socialite hosted an afternoon soirée for her new "Family Jewels" jewelry collection at her Los Angeles studio. Kluge was helping pals Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos try on necklaces when her ten-month-old Boston terrier, Bug, disappeared. Kluge spent several hours looking for the pooch, to no avail. She continued her search into the morning and eventually wandered into a nearby home that was under construction. When she heard whimpering coming from an upstairs closet, Kluge pried the door open and found Bug shivering in a corner. The pooch was unharmed, but his one-of-a-kind, $1,500 platinum-and-diamond nameplate collar was missing. Kluge tells us she's making the same diamond collar for Casey Johnson's dog and she'll make another for Bug -- this time with rhinestones.

Granger, Lagana -- Separated at Birth?It was a case of mistaken identity at last week's Adweek luncheon at the Four Seasons honoring executive of the year Stephen Colvin, president of Dennis Publishing. First, Esquire editor-in-chief David Granger's boss, Hearst president Cathleen Black, greeted Dennis CFO John Lagana as "David," but quickly apologized. A few minutes later, Condé Nast editorial director James Truman walked up to Lagana and did the same thing. Truman confirmed the mishap, but cracked, "I thought he was David Bowie." Black isn't laughing. Hearst issued a statement denying the story, saying in part, "Maybe you confused Cathie with someone else."

Wedding Belle: It looks like designer Shoshanna Lonstein won't be wearing one of her own creations when she walks down the aisle. We hear that Lonstein has asked Badgley Mischka to design the dress for her wedding to investment banker Joshua Gruss. A rep insists Lonstein hasn't chosen a designer and is still looking. But one thing is certain; Lonstein will design her bridesmaids' gowns. The couple announced their engagement in January and is planning a New York City wedding for spring 2003.

Book Notes: Move over, Martha Stewart. We hear Über-publicists and event planners Lara Shriftman and Elizabeth Harrison are close to signing a deal to write, with freelance writer Karen Rabinowitz, a how-to book on entertaining for Stewart's publisher, Clarkson Potter. . . . Meanwhile, author Dani Shapiro, who created quite a stir three years ago with Slow Motion: A True Story, her memoir chronicling her parents' tragic car accident and an affair she had with her best friend's stepfather, has sold her fourth novel, Family History, to Knopf as part of a two-book deal with editor Jordan Pavlin. HarperCollins was close to signing Shapiro, but, according to an insider, Knopf came through at the eleventh hour with a high bid of $600,000.